On to Stockholm, Sweden

After an exciting, fun-filled few days in St. Petersburg, the ship transitioned to Stockholm, Sweden – the land of music group ABBA, clothing retailer H&M, and tall, blond, friendly, beautiful people! Talk about a culture shock! Just the architecture alone told me I wasn’t in Russia anymore – grandiose, baroque buildings covered in gold were behind me and I now saw the more subdued, reserved beauty of Sweden.

Stockholm is a lovely, very walkable city made up of several islands which are connected by bridges or ferries. The weather was wonderful and sunny the whole time I was in Sweden so I saw Stockholm in all its glory (I hear winter is another story; I don’t intend to personally find out!). Stockholm has a number of sights to visit and see, but the city exudes a calm and relaxed nature. This is the first city I’ve visited this summer where I felt comfortable just “being” instead of running around like a tourist trying to see everything I can in just a few days.  It was nice to move at a more relaxed pace and be able to stop and smell the roses, so to speak.

So, how did I spend my four days in Stockholm? Let me show you through these pictures:

View of Stockholm from Djurgarden Island. Djurgarden Island features great museums like the living history museum called Skansen, the ABBA Museum and the Vasa Museum. I visited both Skansen and the Vasa Museum.

"Mama Mia! Here I go again..." My co-worker Julie Roa and I posing outside the ABBA Museum in Stockholm.

View of Stockholm with the Vasa Museum in the foreground.

The Vasa warship. The Vasa warship sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628 - just minutes after sailing from Stockholm. The ship was salvaged in 1961 and is the only preserved 17th century warship in the world. It looks like a ship straight out of  the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Another view of the Vasa warship. The ship sunk because it was loaded down with too many cannons.

The back of the Vasa warship is very decoratively carved.

The shield of Sweden on the back of the Vasa warship.

Me in front of Drottingholm Palace. The Palace is located on Lovon Island and is the home of the Swedish royal family. "Drottingholm" literally means the "Queens Islet."

View of Drottingholm Palace from the gardens in the back.

In addition to Drottingholm Palace, the Swedish royal family has a palace right in the heart of Stockholm. Everyday they have a changing of the guards ceremony which puts the English changing of the guards ceremony in London to shame!  45 minutes of pomp, circumstance and music-playing. By the end of the ceremony, we all had the same feeling as these guards: "when is this thing going to end?!"

The band playing Swedish tunes from on horseback during the changing of the guards ceremony.

The drummer playing from horseback during the changing of the guards ceremony.

If it weren’t for the snowy, dark, cold winters, I would finagle a way to move to Stockholm – I liked it that much! My great-grandfather was from Sweden but being a few generations removed must have created wimp out of me, and I’m not sure I would physically survive a winter in Sweden. Perhaps that’s what makes this country so special – only the hardy and truly dedicated live in this foreign land and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to share a much appreciated short summer with the Swedes.